Saint Johns - Day 7 - One Final Hike

Our last whole day on St. John and as is our custom we saved the best hike for last.  But prior to heading out for the morning I was outside on the breezeway when a dozen or so what I think are Mangrove Cuckoo flew up.  They are hard to photograph because they never sit still for long plus I had to zoom in from about 15 feet away.  Nonetheless, I finally got a really good closeup of one of these pretty pretty birds.

The lazy cat across the street below the breezeway was far easier to get to pose for a picture.

Trying to beat the crowds we left the villa shortly before 8 and drove up to the road known as Centerline above the Coral Bay.  The hike we were taking was shown as 2.6 miles one way but it was a little over 3 with the side trips we took.  It also includes a drop of 1000 feet in altitude which, unfortunately, meant we had 1000 feet climb to get back to our car on the way back.

The first half mile of the trail dropped perhaps 500 feet.  It meant the last half mile was going to be a bit brutal.  It was always amazing to me how such huge termite nests could form on what looked like an otherwise healthy tree.

In addition to 4 separate ruins of old sugar plantations, we also saw a lot of deer, millipedes and plants growing on top of rock walls.

About 3/4's of the way down the trail we took a side path which went over to a rocky formation with what they call Petroglyphs on them.  These are carvings in the rock dating back to 900 to 1500 AD.

In case you couldn't guess, Fred and I were a bit drenched in sweat by this point.

We also came across the same crab like creatures that we'd seen down in Costa Rica before as well as a curious mongoose.

And to throw in just a totally cute moment we came across this baby deer laying perfectly still in the woods.

At the very bottom just before the bay was the largest sugar cane processing plant we'd seen on the island.  It even incorporated steam machinery during it's later operations.

Then it was over one last hill and down to the beach of Reef Bay.

We had carried along snorkel masks so we could explore the bay, but by this point we were too tired to sit and enjoy the ocean breeze coming across the bay.

And then we were off back up the trail.  What took us 2 1/2 hours to get down only took us 1 3/4 hours to get back up.  We weren't racing by any means, but we just kept up a steady pace with few stops until towards the end.

I did pause to take a pic of the largest mango tree I'd ever seen.  It must have been 120 feet tall.

Then it was on to a late but greatly deserved lunch break down in Coral Bay, and then the drive back to the villa, and a nice afternoon leisurely session hanging out at the pool.

So as I write this we're back in Florida having flown back on Saturday or day 8 of our vacation.  So until the next vacation or other reason we might have to post, I bid you all adieu. 

Saint Johns - Day 6 - Maho Beach and Horseback Riding

Another early day to get out of the villa by 8 after breakfast.  We had been told that Mayo Beach back on the North side was a great place for sea turtles.  We headed off there but Tina and I had set up reservations for horse back riding.  So we spent about an hour at the beach which as with all the other beaches was just beautiful.

After that we departed leaving Fred and Gwen at the beach and headed off to the east end of the island for horse back riding. Tina's horse was Luke and my horse was Ezekiel.

The lady who ran the stable also raised donkeys, chickens, dogs, and even a cat.  I had to take the next photo to my cat loving parents and brother Bob.

Our trail guide was the owner of the place who was a fascinating lady who knew all about the local places and plants and animals.  She let Tina and I mount ourselves and set out down the trail.

The lady who owns the place had 6 horses, 5 of which were rescue horses and she works 7 days a week to try to make ends meet.  She also, with the help of friends, built the majority of the trail we took up to the top of a hill overlooking Coral Bay.

At the top of the hill we climbed (which was an impressive show of the power of the horses) we were afforded a beautiful view down onto Coral Bay.

The ride back down was over dirt/gravel roads which required the horses to move carefully every step of the way.  And then we were down to the inland areas of Coral Bay where we got to give the horses a break and walk them through the edge of the water.

And then it was back to the beach where, best we could tell, Fred and Gwen had been marinating in Maho Bay for the three hours while we were gone.  The horse ride was only supposed to be an hour and she took us out for an hour and a half. Anyway, it appeared Gwen and Fred had fun while we were away.

After lunch Tina and I headed out for snorkeling.  The coral reef was pretty good, although not as good as the other sites we'd seen.  But all of us got to see a number of sea turtles busy feeding on the bays grass.  Truly cool to see wild sea turtles enjoying life.  :)

And as a final note, I had to post this last picture because Tina's complaining about me never posting pics of her when she dresses up at night.  So here we are at dinner last night.

Until tomorrow night, enjoy your sea turtles.

Saint Johns - Day 5 - Sunset Bonus

So before heading out to dinner tonight at a restaurant called Zo-Zo's (excellent excellent excellent but very very very expensive restaurant) we were afforded the opportunity to watch the sunset from the pool deck.  Without further adieu, here's the best pictures of the evening.

So good night from St. John.

Saint Johns - Day 5 - Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Trail

We got an early start today again because we were heading towards one of the beaches which is popular with the cruise ships coming into St. Thomas.  It's known as Trunk Bay.  Today we knew that a Disney Cruise out of Port Canaveral was coming in so by mid-morning it was going to get pretty crowded.  By8:30 when we got there it was nearly empty.

The rocky island on the next picture is where an underwater snorkeling trail exists.  It consists of 15 cement signs underwater explaining the fish and coral that are present in the area.

While waiting for the snorkel gear rental place to open for Tina and I, Fred played king of the mountain and we took a stroll down to the end of the beach where the rock formations take over.

After the 4 of us did the aforementioned underwater snorkeling trail, we had lunch and then Fred and I headed out to  go around the complete rocky island.

With it getting to be mid-afternoon we headed over to Cinnamon Bay which had a trail going up past another long abandoned sugar plantation and then up to the forest above.  As opposed to most other trails we had done this one was completely wet and green, making for a nice cool hike through the forest.

The Tyre Palm shown in the next pic as the skinny trunked tree in the middle of the pic is the last native palm remaining on St. John.

As we had seen on a lot of the trails here there are massive termite nests on many tree's in the forest.

After the trail we headed over to Cinnamon Bay itself.  Fred and I took this pic in front of the sign in a tribute to Kara's husband Chris who should know why we did it.  :)

The park service had a fascinating archeological center right on the beach.  It contains artifacts they recovered from beach diggings, some of which date back as far as 1500 BC. 

And just above the bay is what's known as Peters Bay Estates.  This is known as the richest community on the island, which is rather obvious why it is.  Fred nicknamed it Drago's Hill.  I don't quite think so.  :)

Until tomorrow, have a happy happy.